


When Lightning Strikes

by TheColdestGinger



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-11 23:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3336650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheColdestGinger/pseuds/TheColdestGinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman stopped in front of a large headstone. The marble grave was well taken care of, but it showed signs of wear. Her frizzy scarlet curls fell just past her shoulders and faint freckles dotted her cheeks. The young woman sighed then cleared her throat. "Hey Dad," She whispered hesitantly. "It's me, Isabelle."</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Lightning Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a thing I posted on ff.net a while back. I'll try to post the prequel too. I'm moving all of my works onto this site, but I haven't had time to do all of them yet. Thank you for your time

A frigid gust whipped through the soggy graveyard. Dead leaves tumbled across the cold ground, weaving in and out of the frosty headstones. The dim November afternoon was chillier than usual. Dreary sky gave way to a persistent drizzle. Ominous black clouds bellowed on the horizon. The temperature fell slowly with the harsh wind.

A young woman--no more than eighteen--walked along the muddy path. Water seeped into her sneakers, but she didn't seem to mind. The wind teased the frizzy scarlet curls that fell just past her shoulders. She shivered under her sweatshirt as another icy blast gripped her athletic frame. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but the teen paid no attention to the oncoming storm. Her footing was rather uncertain as she headed down the path. Her mind was elsewhere, her face was troubled.  

The young woman stopped in front of a large headstone. The marble grave was well taken care of, but it showed signs of wear. Wind howled through the bare trees and the downpour intensified. The soaked teen crouched down and glanced up at the stone memorial with a forlorn expression. Her gloved fingertips lightly traced the letters engraved into the marble. It had been a long time since she'd last visited. Years actually. The young woman sighed then cleared her throat.

"Hey.....Dad," She whispered hesitantly. "It's me, Isabelle."

It felt so stupid, talking to a gravestone, but the teen hoped that it would somehow help.

"We've never met, but I-I still miss you." She confessed. "It's kind of strange for me to say this. I feel like I know you." Since before Isabelle could remember people were always telling her stories about her father. Second hand memories of him floated through her mind as she continued to stare at the ground.

"But I don't know you," Isabelle sighed, "And that's what hurts."

The sound of rain and sleet pelting the ground was deafening. She paused and peeled her soaking bangs off her forehead. The young woman fought the tears blurring her eyes. She bit her lip to hide a sob.

"Y'know today's your birthday." She blurted. A small, mirthless smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Your 40th actually."

Thunder clapped in the distance, Isabelle ignored it. Her mind was elsewhere. The awkward silence amongst the clamor provoked more tears to pour from her emerald eyes. Nevertheless she continued talking to her father's headstone. It provided some sort of hollow comfort yet at the same time it added insult to injury.

The young woman attempted to dry her face with her damp sleeve. "Mom's okay—I guess," Isabelle sniffed. "She misses you more than you could ever imagine."

"Barry finally hung up the cowl." She said casually. It felt so strange talking to her father's grave, but maybe this would give her the closure she was looking for. "He and Aunt Iris have a family now." Isabelle continued tearfully with the small talk. "Their twins are a few months older from me. We all graduated from high school in June."

The roaring wind picked up speed, flying ice stung as it hit her face. Lightning crackled as it hit one of the dead trees. However, the young woman remained at the grave.

Isabelle sighed. "I wish you could've been there, Dad." Her nose was starting to turn blue and her fingers and toes no longer had any feeling. "I got into Stanford like you did." The redhead tried to squeeze some water out of her gloves. "Mom was so proud."

Out of habit she twirled a lock of hair around the fingers of her right hand. "You know Bart's the Flash now." Isabelle changed subjects. "He's doing a great job protecting the cities, and he's also one hell of a mentor."

The young speedster glanced at the gold Flash ring on her left hand. The faded crimson lightning bolt in the center shimmered ever so slightly as she moved her arm. "Mom finally let me become Kid Flash two years ago." Isabelle went on halfheartedly. The young speedster was starting to doubt herself as she conversed with her father's headstone.

She wiped away more invisible tears. Why was she doing this? Her father wasn't listening because he was dead. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't give her the answers she desperately needed. The reason to why she always felt like something was missing in her life. He couldn't tell her why she was so damn lost or why she was so lonely. He couldn't give her answers to why she missed a man she never met so much. He couldn't comfort her and tell her everything would be ok.

Angry, frustrated sobs shook her body. "Oh what's the use!" Isabelle growled. She cursed herself for doing something so clichéd and pointless. " _You're not there_!" She screamed. " _You can't hear me!_

Bitter tears blurred her vision as she continued to rant. "You never could hear me!" The young speedster cried, " _Because you were never there!"_ A sense of self-loathing swelled up in her chest as her next set of words came to her lips.

"-And I hate you for that." Isabelle couldn't help but feeling selfish. "You saved the whole goddamn planet and I just cant help but hate you for it." She confessed.

"You never taught me things father's should teach their children." The speedster snapped. "Mom taught me how to ride a bike. Barry taught me how to use my speed. Grandpa Rudy taught me how to drive."

Isabelle couldn't stop her anger as she tried to shout over the howling wind. "There's always been a hole in my life. People always try to fill it, but they can't. Because there is no substitute for a father, even one I've never met." She let out another sad, heavy sigh. "-And it _kills_ me inside, the fact that I'll never know you."

Just then lightning shot out of the bellowing storm cloud and struck the ground right in front of Wally's gravestone. Isabelle was thrown to the soggy ground by the bolt. Her heart raced inside her chest and the woman could have sworn she saw her life flash before her eyes as the lightning struck, missing her by half an inch. Slowly, Isabelle pulled herself off of the freezing, wet ground. A sharp gasp escaped her mouth as she surveyed the damage.

Her father's headstone was gone, only a blackened crater was left in its wake. It took a moment for the steam to clear but once it did Isabelle almost fainted.

There was a man sprawled out at the bottom of the crater. His tall muscular body was covered in burn marks. Small remnants of faded scarlet and yellow fabric were all that remained of his clothes. A cracked set of goggles rested on his forehead on top of his dirty red hair. He groaned a little bit, but seemed to be unconscious.

The shaken young woman found it hard to breathe. There was no mistaking this man's identity.

_It was her father._

At that moment everything seemed unreal, but Isabelle knew better. She wasn't dreaming this time. Her father was here and she had not the slightest notion of what to do. The speedster remained frozen as she watched her father's awaking form.

Emerald eyes that matched hers opened. Wally was not yet aware of his surroundings. The young man mumbled something incoherent as he untangled his limbs. Finally he looked up and saw the bewildered young teen standing over him. For some odd reason she seemed utterly familiar. "Who-who are you? Where am I?" He asked softly. The speedster was so confused.

Isabelle was paralyzed as she stared at her father. She was in shock. Her mind was at a standstill. Part of her wanted to jump into the crater and give the man a giant bear hug; the other wanted to bolt to the other side of the planet. The teen started to feel guilty for the things she had just said.

Finally her deer-in-the-headlights composure melted away. She held an edge of disbelief as she met his glance. For almost a minute she studied him, making sure it wasn't a cruel trick or that she was seeing something. He seemed to be studying her too, maybe trying to figure out why she looked so familiar.

Then she finally said it, that word that made Wally's heart stop.

" _Dad?"_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.


End file.
